Weinsteins Get Macdonald’s “My Enemy’s Enemy”

Weinsteins Get Macdonald's "My Enemy's Enemy"

“My Enemy’s Enemy,” a new doc by “The Last King of Scotland” director Kevin Macdonald has been acquired by The Weinstein Company (TWC), in a deal with Wild Bunch. The company has secured U.S. and Canadian rights to the movie, described in an announcement, “an uncompromising, troubling and provocative journey into the history of Klaus Barbie, also known as ‘The Butcher of Lyon’. the former Gestapo commander who terrorized Lyon and the surrounding region from November 1942 to August 1944.” The film is being produced by Rita Dagher (“Fahrenheit 9/11”) through her production company Yalla Films. Laine Kline, SVP of business and legal affairs, and TWC EVP of acquisitionsMaeva Gatineau negotiated the deal on behalf of The Weinstein Company with Vincent Maravel representing Wild Bunch.

In a statement, Macdonald said:

“What I wanted to do in ‘My Enemy’s Enemy’ was to reveal an alternate history of the post-war world. This is a version of history where, in contrast to what we were all told, fascist ideology prevailed. The story of Klaus Barbie – Nazi torturer, American spy, tool of repressive right-wing regimes – is symbolic of the real relationship that the ‘Western’ governments had with fascism and makes us see the world as it is today – and the politicians who inhabit it – in a different way.”